Ning Comment Wall

Dennis, Forgot to say I've heard about Archi's Acres in SoCal. Such a cool project! :)

Gotcha Brenda. :)

The media is as uneducated about ACEs and trauma as the rest of our professional, topical and geographic communities, hence their sensationalistic approach. And just as in all our communities, there are beginnings of change with a couple of organizations that are promoting solution-oriented journalism, and a few of us who are starting to educate other journalists about trauma-informed journalism.

All those emotions -- frustration, anger, etc. -- have roots in adverse childhood experiences and systems that are further traumatizing traumatized people. However, there really is a trauma-informed/resilience social movement underway, and all of the more than 1,400 members of ACEsConnection are part of it.

We definitely have a long way to go, but I believe that war, racism, sexism, etc. will eventually be made senseless by this movement, partly because the -isms just don't compute, and partly because the -isms are fueled by people who are angry about what happened to them in their childhoods, either at the hands of their parents, in their neighborhoods or in the systems (education, medicine, mental health, etc.) that served them, and they take out their frustrations on someone else. 

Thanks for your kind words, Dennis.... 

Cheers, Jane

Are there any members of Maryland ACEs who will be attending this event next week?  If so, I'll be there and would love to meet up, talk in person.

4th Biennial Trauma Conference: Addressing Trauma Throughout the Lifespan - MARYLAND

October 3, 2013 to October 4, 2013 – Doubletree by Hilton Baltimore-North Pikesville

Looks like no one has claimed to be going to the Baltimore Trauma Conference next week other than Brenda.

Wish I could attend but I have other obligations.

If I were able to attend, my aim would be to connect with or get contact data for as many Maryland resident attendees and presenters as possible to see if we can  build a coalition aiming, to start with, include ACEs questions on the Maryland Behavioral Risk Factor Surveilance Survey. I wouldn't be surprised if we could locate a number of Johns Hopkins providers and researchers who would support this.  

I did find out that the contact person for Maryland BRFSS, Helio Lopez, retired a few months ago and that the survey is now managed through Maryland Vital Statistics. I will pursue that to find out the "who what where why and when" about how questions get included.

And Brenda, it would be great if you can "collect" some folks interested in what we are trying to do and invite them to join Aces Connection!

Anyway, have fun and bring us some stories about your adventures. (No pressure :-) )

Dennis,  You CAN READ MY MIND! :)  That's exactly what I plan on doing.  I'm going to talk as much as I can to the ppl from Maryland who get TIC, get ACEs, and would/might join our Maryland ACES group!  I'm sure I will have fun...but I go with a very strong agenda!  Thanks for all you are doing, Dennis.  Every bit of it helps!

Brenda , you made my day! Way to go!

I shoulda said "Baltimore conference TOMORROW".

I'll do some research from home while you are networking in person,

I hope you keep checking  in so we can collaborate via posts here.

Maybe we can locate some care providers, researchers or teachers who might be interested in a little policy development.

Do you know which workshops or presentations you want to attend? REcognizing plans can cahange depending upon real-time opportunities and invitations.

I've briefly perused the brochure on line--looks terrific.

Love the pic, Dennis! :)

Brenda, Is there a hashtag for this conference? If so can you please pass it on? Thanks. That way I can work on recruitment from this end. -- chris

>Brenda, Is there a hashtag for this conference? If so can you please pass it on? >Thanks. That way I can work on recruitment from this end. -- chris

So Chris, how are you going to work on recruitment with Twitter? I really haven't got with Twitter yet--I guess I need to.

So  I guess if there is a hashtag I can watch you at work, eh?

(Glad you like the pictures--I have an irrepressible interior middle schooler who sometimes pops out in serious exchanges--will try to keep him within the boundaries of propriety).

I follow folks who are posting on the conference hashtag. Some folks on Twitter will follow back once they see I'm a new follower of theirs. I run a M-F newsfeed on Twitter for Jane. The conference folks I follow will follow if me if they are interested and learn more about her sites via the profile page.

Thanks Chris.

I have alot to learn.

I've put out a request on Twitter to use the hashtag #KK4BTC for the conference convo. Fingers crossed it gets used. Follow there.

Dennis, I wanted to report back to you after the Trauma Conference:  It was a wonderful experience for me personally.  I did get an opportunity to speak to many individuals who work in the field of trauma and social services.  I passed out my business card often, talked to  many about ACEs, and about our group here.  Many said they were interested.  I did NOT get any business cards back, and I hope people follow-through and join us.  So MANY knew about TIC practices, and a few did know about ACEs, but there's a lot of education to be done.  So, I'm sitting on the fence, waiting for something good to happen in Maryland.  Perhaps the thing to do is to reach out to Montgomery County systems - like Public Health, elected County officials, etc. with our message?  Would it be worthwhile to try to put together a workshop on ACEs in Montgomery County and invite these people who make decisions for us in our State?

Give me your thoughts.  Brenda

This group is unusually quiet!  Don't know if everyone is busy with projects, but would love to see us put Maryland in the cross-hairs of ACE information & pressure to change the way they "care" for its citizens! :)

Welcome Cheryl Sharp!  If there would be an opportunity to get together and forge some kind of plan to reach out to  not only Maryland lawmakers, but Montgomery County lawmakers & social service system leaders to educate them on ACEs, collecting ACE data on their BRFSS intake forms, understand the need for prevention policies and laws to keep us all safer, healthier, happier, I would LOVE the opportunity! Meanwhile, if you have an idea for the group, please put it out there.  I'm all ears! :) Brenda

With Kennedy Krieger Institute and SAMHSA right in Maryland's backyard, can we pull together a Maryland ACES Summit? Here's a prototype (via Washington ACE Group) -- all the legwork already done!  Comments?

Link to Georgia's ACE Summit info:  https://sites.google.com/site/gatraumasummits/

There is a Statewide Conference which has just been announced today, focusing on "cutting edge best practices" and is geared toward Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault advocates, law enforcement, therapists, health care professionals, and anyone who is interested in DV or SA issues.

Here's the link to the Tuesday, May 13, 2014 Conference, to be held at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Annapolis, MD from 8:30am until 4:30pm.

http://mnadv.org/?featured=statewide-conference

I'm wondering if ANYONE from this group would be interested in working with me to submit a proposal for a Workshop on Trauma-Informed Care and ACEs education?  Our State DESPERATELY needs to get this information and educate all who help traumatized people?  Let me know!  The deadline for workshop proposal submission is February 14, 2014 -- and here is that website info:

http://mnadv.org/submit-a-workshop-proposal/

Brenda Yuen

Hi Brenda,

Let's see if we can get something together on this. I have been out of the loop for a while dealing with family health issues, but his is an extremely fortuitous opportunity. Let's see what we can do. I will send you an email with some ideas later today.